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Over 204 reviews forBoca Raton Property Appraisers from people just like you.

A

"

was very professional and really nice. She was very thorough and asked a lot of questions to make sure she understood correctly the information" ...More she needed in order to provide a proper appraisal. She delivered a nice detailed report in a short amount of time and at a very good cost. Very knowledgeable and experienced. Would recommend her to anyone.
Resident - Vista, CA

-Sherri H.

F

"I have tried for two weeks to contact them to get an appraisal of my home because they came so highly recommended by Angie's List. Using their own "Contact" ...More Us" form on their site I placed 2 requests for contact. If their form is broke, they really need to speak with their web developer. I am very displeased with their lack of response. Why didn't I call? After 2 times, using their own form, I feel affronted and refuse to take any more of my time trying to get them to perform a service.

As prime real estate season approaches, and you ready your house for the market, you might be tempted to forgo hiring a Realtor and represent the listing yourself. After all, how hard can it be to sell your own home?

Angie's Answers

Yes, but you won't like what will probably happen (this is a worst case scenario, hopefully you will avoid most):

The purpose for a building permit is to ensure meeting the minimum standards for construction practices and minimum safety standards. A contractor who works without a permit, does so because they know they are not in compliance (and to save money at your expense). They knew they should have had inspections and permits for their work. Who ever built the addition should be reported to both the building official as well as the Better Business Bureau. It is ultimately the homeowner who is responsible for ensuring the proper permits have been applied for, though.

So when you apply for your permit, you will be pretending as if the work is not completed (you do not hide this fact, you just have to follow the correct process as if it hadn't been built). Your first stop will be with zoning; can you even add an addition, do you have the proper clearances from the side, front and rear property lines. If it is a bedroom, does the septic system (perk test) support an additional bedroom. If your building already meets or exceeds the amount of building allowed on the site or if you do not have the clearances required from the property line, your addition may be required to be removed. There are appeal processes and variance requests you can try before tearing down the addition (Get an architect).

If your zoning review is fine, next you go to permitting. Here you will submit plans (drawings) of what was built. If you do not have these plans, consider hiring an Architect to generate As-Built drawings for this use. Hopefully the plan review comes back with no changes, or you will alread know your addition is not in compliance and may face rebuilding. Depending on the type of construction, your zoning and your local building requirements, you will be required to have inspections of your foundation / footings, the framing, the electrical, mechancial and HVAC systems, etc. affected by the work.

This may require digging the ground back up so the inspector can confirm foundation depth, size and draingage requirements. The interior wall finishes (gypsum board, panelling, etc) may have to be removed in some or all areas so the framing and electrical can be inspected (If one area fails, be prepared to pull all areas down). At each inspection, if the work is found to be lacking, then you will have to correct the work before getting permission to use the room. If there is an electrical or safety violation found, it is possible the Building Official could declare the entire property inhabitable until the offenses are corrected (IE you are homeless until it is fixed).

As you can see, you have to hope beyond belief that the builder constructed everything correctly and that the building officials will work with you to minimize the amount of deconstruction necessary to inspect the work.

Also, you will be charged all the fees associated with plan review and permitting, and you will be charged for each inspection visit (as your builder would have been charged initially had they followed the law).

As for value, here is the real concern: If your home burns down or faces some similar disaster, your home owners insurance will balk at paying; they will blame the illegal construction as the cause. As for the value of your building, not having a permit will make any buyer have a difficult time getting their own insurance, thus harder to sell. The room itself will add value to your property, if it isn't a hazard (IE permitted).

Also, taxes are based upon assessments, which use the land records. Building without a permit, can be seen by local officials as an attempt to avoid paying property taxes, since the land records do not show the addition. Until the official tax records reflect an accurate statement of your building, you may face fines, tax fees and other costs associated with the improvement depending upon how long it has been there unreported.

You may wish to contact a local, licensed Architect who works with the local building department. They will know the personel, know which forms you need to fill out first and how to protect you from an overzealous Building Official (there are exceptions and options within the Code that the Building Official may forget or ignore that an Architect can request be used to prevent tear down or damage). Next time you go to build get the Architect first to protect yourself from what this construction firm did to you.

If you are having a friendly divorce you might want to know what doing the repairs would add to the sale price. I think your best bet would actually be to talk to a realtor as to what they think the difference would be. Then get a couple of estimates from a local contractor or contractors.

Being in a divorce situation I would think sell as is and move on as quickly as you can. Renovation of a home can be a stress on a good marraige and it would probably be worse if in divorce proceedings.

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Real Estate Appraising reviews in Boca Raton

A

Rating

“

My name is

Goldfinger and I have been in the real estate business for 40 years in the Maryland and District of Columblia markets. I have worked with

, of

., for at least 20 of those years. He has always been reliable, professional, knowledgeable and honest in his approach with my ...More Buyers & Sellers. The importance of choosing a Mortgage Officer is will he get the job done on time with No surprises.

is the right choice! He has never let me or any of my clients down in the many years we have worked together. Please feel free to get in touch with me with any questions on my cell at 301-257-9376 or email me at <rmgoldfinger@yahoo.com.Best regards,

Company to request an appraisal and evaluation of the home that my
daughter lives in. After searching through Angie’sList of contractors I had noticed this company and its reviews and decided to
give them a try. I made contact by email and that same day a representative, ...More Mr.

King told me that he could assist me. I informed Mr.

that I needed an appraisal right away so I could see how it rated with other homes in the area. Mr.

was very accommodating and told me that he could meet me the next day if my schedule would allow. My schedule did allow and I met Mr.

the next day. He surveyed the outside of the house, took pictures, examined the interior of the house and took
more pictures. I addressed his questions and he offered some advice to facilitate some remodeling. Within three days, I had his final Appraisal Report.
I really appreciated the prompt and efficient customer service that Mr.

provided. He was very knowledgeable
about the homes in the DC area and discussed the future of the real estate

in the District of Columbia. I will surely recommend this company to others without hesitation.”

- Sylvia D.

A

Rating

“

It was a great experience, everything went smoothly and I was shocked to see just how detailed of a report he created.

was very responsive over phone and e-mail, came out when he said he would, was very friendly and professional, and he actually finished the report faster than the week turnaround he estimated. The report ...More itself was incredibly detailed, digging very deep into the

specific to the area I live. Looking at his report compared to the appraisal I got when I purchased my house there isn't even a competition,

's was far superior.
I would definitely recommend

to anyone needing appraisal service.”

- Lucas S.

A

Rating

“

We got our response in just a few days as promised. We priced our house at about the same price as he appraised it for and had an offer in about 2 weeks. (The bank's appraiser - chosen by the lender after we accepted an offer, still has not given us the report and it has been over a week!)”

- Brenda J.

A

Rating

“

I contemplated whether or not I wanted to pay for an appraisal before putting it on the

. I am glad I did. I have a much more concrete knowledge of the value of my home. I definitley got my moneys worth.

responded the same day and worked with my schedule well. She gave what I feel was a very accurate appraisal ...More for my property and explained well how she got there. She showed me other listings and recent sales activity for homes in my area and how my home compares to each. She also showed what concessions were provided for each home sale.

also made some valid suggestions on what I can do to make my home more marketable.
Now that I am getting ready to list it I feel more empowered and ready to negotiate!
Thanks

!”

- Kim C.

D

Rating

“

This review is specifically regarding "appraiser"

M

, as she is our only contact with this company.
First, I must say that if you need an appraisal, do not call

or The Appraisal Station. I am not sure which (or if both) this appraiser works for. Some of her paperwork ...More was for one, some the other. However, I would not have confidence in a company who allows her to represent them.
Secondly, if your financial institution says they need an appraisal, request that they not use these companies. Had I known in advance who our bank would use, I would have requested another appraisal company.

Third, this particular appraiser is the most unprofessional, snotty person I have ever had to deal with. For example, she came to our door. I let her in, and she did not introduce herself or even acknowledge that she was walking into someone's living space. She walked past me and began looking around. After a minute or two I made a point to introduce myself and put out my hand. She did not respond. So I finally said, "And your name is...?" She replied, "

." At the time I did not even know how to spell her name; she did not ever give us a business card or anything with her name on it until a week or so later when the appraisal came in via our bank. It was because of her unprofessional entrance that I should have kicked her out, but instead I walked around with her. She pretty much ignored me for her entire visit.

Fourth, Ms.

's appraisal was so low compared to a year-and-a-half earlier when we purchased this house as a foreclosure. When we purchased the house, it had not been maintained for a few years and was severely lacking maintenance work both inside and out. There were some interior areas that were unlivable and unsafe. But the appraisal back then still came in at 450k. In addition, almost all of the purchases we made between then and now were to fill the vacancies that the former owner left and/or to repair severe damage due to neglect. We also made some upgrades that were quite costly. Ms

was told that, and she was also given the information on the previous appraisal. However, she neglected to take those things into account either deliberately or because she did not pay attention.

Fifth, some of her appraisal notes are inaccurate, i.e. the number of bathrooms, the square footage, the "comparable" homes that are NOT comparable in size at all (3 were around 100 sq ft too small), the stated distance to local businesses and schools, the type of fencing, the list of upgrades and expenses to replace what was "missing," not what was general upkeep.
Ms.

's entire attitude, both in person and on paper, is self-righteous. She gave me the impression that she is gloating right now over each low-ball appraisal she has made because she has the power to do so. Originally I chose to walk around with her to explain what we had done to the house in the past 1-1/2 years to upgrade and improve and to show her some of the

rooms she might not see, but as we moved through rooms, I stuck with her because she was a bit peculiar and I did not trust her in the house without me.”

- Jack or Dove A.

F

Rating

“

We first contacted

at

Appraisals 3/4/15 and liked what we heard about price and turn around time. We decided to hire them to do the appraisal on our property.

said he would have his staff e-mail the paperwork to us that day. When we hadn't received it by late the next day, ...More we called again to make sure he had the correct e-mail for us. He said he would send it himself that day (3/5/15). We still have not received anything from him or his staff and have decided to go with another appraiser. All contact was by phone in our home in California.”

- Ginger C.

A

Rating

“

was a pleasure to deal with and did an excellent job. I am an attorney. He provided me with an affidavit and supporting appraisal for litigation. The appraisal was very thorough and professional. It had to be done without access to the house. It was 14 pages long, including descriptive addendum and photographs. I had called ...More several other appraisers, and either their prices were much higher or they did not give me the impression that they could do the job well.”